Outsource WordPress maintenance, hosting included

No. Most sites I take over are behind on updates. I clear that backlog during the migration. Does it take more than updating? Think of a site that doesn't work with newer software on the server (PHP), an expired license, or a theme that needs replacing. Then you get a price after the quick scan, before I start on it.

No. I take care of the technical side. If you want to look at your email or files yourself, you can log in to your hosting account (cPanel). But you don't have to. Most clients never log in.

Before an update, I make a copy of what's about to change. If the update or the check afterward fails, a fixed rule puts that copy back automatically. On an online store where orders came in during that time, only the files go back. If you notice something wrong later, I put back the copy from before the update; I keep it for seven days. After that, it can still come from the daily backups, going back up to six months, every day for the first two weeks. Recovery after an update through my system costs you nothing extra.

More about what happens when an update goes wrong.

No, not by default. The safety net is the copy beforehand, the automatic check afterward, and putting the copy back if something goes wrong. So for regular updates, a test copy isn't needed. For a really big update, I do make one first.

If a new version is withdrawn in those first days, your site won't have received it automatically. Not everything waits, by the way. A security update for a hole that's being actively exploited doesn't wait that long. And minor updates of WordPress itself don't wait either.

Yes. After an update, my check puts a product in the cart and opens the checkout page. A real browser walks through a customer's steps up to the order button, and stops there. After a WooCommerce update, I wait until the database has been updated. I update WooCommerce itself by hand. Every half hour, I check whether orders are getting stuck. If an update has to be rolled back while orders have just come in, only the files go back and the orders stay in place.

Basic costs €39, Plus €59, and Pro €89 per month excl. VAT, with hosting included. Work outside the package costs €95 per hour excl. VAT, billed per quarter hour. Pro includes 30 minutes every month for small changes, like a piece of text, an image, or a menu item. What you don't use carries over one month. A short technical question is always included.

For a few euros a month, you get space on a server. Sometimes there's a button or setting for automatic updates. Of the cheap hosting packages I compared, one describes an automatic check after an update that can roll it back. That check only looks at screenshots. None of those packages describes a person who steps in.

If you want maintenance by a person, you usually pay €44 to €65 per month on top of that elsewhere, for one site; budget packages with a monthly round of updates start at around €12.50. Also watch the price after the first period: many low hosting prices only apply for the first year or the first few months. A typical small package then costs €9.99 per month excl. VAT. Compared with Basic, the difference is then about €29 per month. That's what covers the maintenance.

If your site is a hobby that doesn't need to bring anything in, cheap hosting is fine. You'll find the amounts per provider, with sources, in my guide, in the section on cheap hosting or hosting with maintenance.

No. Hosting is part of the package, because I can only take responsibility for updates, security, and recovery if I also manage the server. You don't pay for it separately.

Yes. Email on your own domain is included in every package, with a spam filter and virus scanning. During the migration, I make sure your email keeps working. I'll agree with you up front on how your mailboxes move over.

Your site, your database, and your content are yours. You're not locked into anything: there's no annual contract. You can cancel in any month; your package then runs until the end of the current month. You cancel through the link on your invoice, by email, or by phone.

You get a full copy of your site to take with you, files and database, at no extra cost. Your email and your domain name are arranged together with your new provider: I also supply a copy of your mail, and you or your new provider point the domain name at the new server. My connection on your site and its key I remove myself; you don't need to do anything for that.

My management system keeps working when I'm not around. Every five minutes, it checks that your site is reachable, new security holes in your plugins are matched against your versions, the error log is read every half hour, and the daily backups keep running. With Plus and Pro, the shielding of known security holes stays active. Small updates also go ahead at night, with a copy beforehand, a check afterward, and the copy put back automatically if something goes wrong. In that case, my system also schedules security updates for holes that are being actively exploited, without waiting for me.

I do big updates and every WooCommerce update by hand, so those wait. If there's a serious security hole that has no update yet, I'll only discuss with you what to do once I'm back. An alarm goes to my phone.

For urgent matters, I've arranged a stand-in who can step in when needed. Questions and regular changes can then take longer. If you want to get at your files and backups yourself, you get access to cPanel.

Not much, but a few things stay with you. You pay for and renew the licenses for paid plugins and your theme; I update them. If a license has expired, I can't, and I'll raise it with you. Installing or updating plugins: you can do it yourself or leave it to me, whichever you prefer. If you do it yourself, my system doesn't make a copy beforehand and doesn't check that change.

The content of your site (text, photos, pages) stays your work. If you want me to change something, that falls under the 30 minutes a month in Pro or my rate of €95 per hour excl. VAT. And when you start, you give me access to your site, your hosting, and your domain name. You'll find the full list in what I need from you to switch.